A. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of orthodontics and dentistry. More particularly, the invention relates to templates that are applied to teeth and which provide a locating mechanism for a variety of purposes, including localization of treatments on a tooth, and accurately placing brackets, bracket bonding pads, and other orthodontic appliances on teeth.
B. Description of Related Art
In orthodontics, a patient suffering from a malocclusion is typically treated by bonding brackets to the surface of the patient's teeth. The brackets have slots for receiving an archwire. The bracket-archwire interaction governs forces applied to the teeth and defines the desired direction of tooth movement. Typically, the bends in the wire are made manually by the orthodontist. During the course of treatment, the movement of the teeth is monitored. Corrections to the bracket position and/or wire shape are made manually by the orthodontist.
In conventional orthodontics, accurate placement of the brackets on the teeth is important to ensure that the tooth is moved over the course of treatment to the desired finish position. The proper location of brackets on the teeth is part of treatment planning for the patient performed by the orthodontist. Desired bracket position can be determined in a variety of ways, including mathematical calculation (see Lemchen, U.S. Pat. RE 35,169 and Andreiko et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,431,562 and 5,683,243), using interactive orthodontic treatment planning software (see published PCT application of OraMetrix, Inc., WO 01/80761), using wax set-ups from a model of the malocclusion, and by the orthodontist mentally visualizing the bracket placement on the tooth.
Once the desired bracket position is determined using any of these means, the actual placement of the bracket on the teeth can be carried out directly by bonding the bracket to the teeth, either with or without some bracket placement aids. Bracket placement aids, in the form of customized machined bracket placement jigs and thermoplastic bracket transfer trays, are known in the art. See the above-cited patents to Andreiko, Cohen et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,738,005 and Cleary et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,544.
The present invention provides for tooth templates for a variety of possible purposes, including precisely locating brackets on teeth. The templates represent a less costly, easier to use approach to bracket placement than the jigs and transfer trays described above. Moreover, the manufacture of the templates, at least in some embodiments, does not require any specialized equipment such as milling machines or stereolithography machines. The templates can also be used for a variety of other dental uses besides bracket placement, including a locating mechanisms for specific procedures on teeth such as varnishing and etching, treatment of cavities, root canals and other treatments.